Elapsed time recorder with printing disk and concentrically mounted strikers



Nov. 5, 1968 LA V. H. WILLIAMS ELAPSED TIME RECORDER WITH PRINTING DISK AND CONCENTRICALLY MOUNTED STRIKERS Fild Feb. 28. 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet l swan "a Tm-r: AM:

PART NO. PGR- no; PLIC l mmub INVENTOR. [A MFRGNE M ILLIAMS BY 61, #27

" Win 7) Nov. 5, 1968 LA v. H. WILLIAMS 3,409,903

ELAPSED TIME RECORDER WITH PRINTING DISK AND CONCENTRICALLY MOUNTED STRIKERS Filed Feb. 28, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

LA v. H. WILLIAMS 3,409,903 ELAPSED TIME RECORDER WITH PRINTING DISK AND Nov. 5, 1968 CONCENTRICALLY MOUNTED STRIKERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 28, 1967 IE I. CUB- V V f I IA INVENTOR. [A Mam/v5 H MLL/AMS BY Wwf'final M01117 5' Nov. 5, 1968 LA V. H. WILLIAMS ELAPSED TIME RECORDER WITH PRINTING DISK AND 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I Filed Feb. 28, 1967 CONCENTRICALLY MOUNTED STRIKERS 2 M //9 WAK xv Z I OUT 3 INVENTOR. [A Make/v: H l/V/u/AMs may? 5 United States Patent-O 3,409,903 ELAPSED TIME RECORDER WITH PRINTING DISK AND CONCENTRICALLY MOUNTED STRIKERS La VergueH. Williams, Columbia, Conn., assiguor to Guuver Manufacturing Company, Manchester, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut H Filed Feb. 28, 1967, Ser. No, 619,345

7 Claims, (Cl. 346-82) (ABSTRACT THE DISCLOSURE Anelapsed-time time clock having a clock mechanism rotating .aprinting member on which are carried two concentric rings of time indicia, a pair of printing hammers each pivotably disposed to engage respectively one of the concentricrings of indicia, and a card carrier disposed between the .printing member and the printing hammers. Means is provided for bringing either of the hammers and the card carrier into printing contact With the printing member whereby sequential operation of said hammers with. a time card carried by the card carrier will cause the card to be imprinted with the time of the first hammer operation, the time of the second hammer operation, and the time elapsed between the two operations.

Background Down through the years, a great variety of time clocks ha ve' 'been marketed for a variety of uses. One of the most popular time clock was the so-called elapsed-time time clock. This type of clock not only provides an indication of arrival and departure time, but also automatically indicates the time that passed between the arrival and departure and are widely used for a variety of purposes such as job shop clocks, parking lot timers and factory In and Out clocks.

The advantages of such a clock are obvious, but here tofore the elapsed-time time clocks available were quite complex and expensive to produce.

It-is an object of this invention to provide a mechanically and operationally simple elapsed-time time clock which is extremely accurate and reliable while being relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a time clock embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the card marking mechanism of the time clock;

FIG. 3 is a section view taken generally along line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section view taken generally along line 4-,4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section view taken generally along the line 5--5 of FIG. 3;

FIG.'6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 with the mechanism shown in different operative relationship;

FIG. 7 is a partial view of the printing disk used in the present invention;

- .FIG. 8 is a view of a time card used with the present invention showing In time indicia thereon; and

FIG.'9 is a view of a time card used with the present invention showing In and Out time indicia thereon as well as elapsed time.

Referring to FIG. 1 for an overall description of the present invention, it will be seen that a time clock 8 comprises outer casing or housing 10. The front wall of the housing 10 isprovided with an opening 16 through which a time indicating dial may be viewed. A lever 18 which as shown may be marked n and another lever 20 designated Outv are disposed on opposite sides of Patented Nov. 5, 1968 an indicating dial 14. The top wall of the housing is slotted at 22 to provide access to a card receiver or carrier 24, opening upwardly to receive time eards- C, also shown in FIG. 9. The slot 22 is of suflicient size to accommodate movement of the carrier as will hereinafter be described. i

As shown, the time clock embodying this invention comprises a rotatable printing disk 25 driven by a timer; a card carrier 24 and a pair of concentrically arranged strikers or hammers 26 and 27 pivotable together with the card carrier 24 about a shaft 28 (FIG. 5). Aswill be hereinafter described, selective downward movement of the In and Out levers 18 and 20 causes pivotable" movement of either the outer or the inner striker or hammer 26 and 27, respectively, toward the printing disk 25, .the face of which is provided with two concentric bands or rings of printing indicia, FIG. 7. The card carrier is also pivotable in response to movement of either lever 18 or 20 to bring one of the hammers, depending upon the lever selected, and the card into contact with a peripheral portion of one of the bands of indicia' carried by the printing disk. When the In" lever is actuated a first time is recorded on the card in FIG. 8, and when the Out hammer is subsequently actuated, a second time is recorded on the card concentrically within the first time imprinted on the card. As will be later described, the card will also automatically show the elapsed time between the actuation of the n'and, Out hammers.

As shown in FIGS. 2-4, the card carrier 24 comprises a card receiver portion 29 in the shape of an upwardlyv opening U-shaped chamber which communicates with the slot 22 provided in the upper wall of the casing .10, FIG. 1. The card receiver may be formed of any suitable material, such as metal or plastic, and as shown includes oppositely extending flanges 30 and 31. A receiver slot is provided between spaced opposed plates 33 which extend downwardly from the adjacent inner edge of the flanges 30 and 31. The lower edges of the plates 33 are of semicircular configuration forming an arcuate recess or opening 34 for the lower portion of a card C fitted into the receiver. This opening provides access for contact with the card on one side by the printing disk and on the other by the strikers. Shoulders, not shown, are provided within the outer edges of the receiver to support the card in proper printing position. The receiver is supported by a pair of downwardly extending support members or arms 32 which, as shown in FIG. 2, are secured at their upper ends to the flange 30. At their lower ends the arms 32 are pivotally mounted on the shaft 28 which is supported at its outer ends by side plates 38 and 40.

The side plates are secured to outer edges of a base plate 39 which is in turn anchored to the bottom of the casing or housing 10. As further shown in the drawings, the card carrier 24 is held in fixed axial position on the shaft 28 by hubs 42 which extend in fixed relation from the arms 32 and abut the side plates 38 and 40. Each of the carrier arms 32 is provided with a notch 45 positioned to receive a pin 46 and 47 which extends outwardly from one of the striker arms 64 and 62, respectively, when the hammers are moved in response to actuation of the In and Out levers 18 and 20. In this way pivotable movement of either of the hammers toward the printing disk 25 is transmitted to the card carrier 24.

A vertically slidable printing shield 48 is carried by the card carrier 24. As best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, the shield comprises a face plate portion 49, channel shaped end portions or brackets 50 fitted around the end walls of the card receiver 29 (FIG. 2). The slide shield is supported by a rod or pin 52 which extends rearwardly from the card carrier 24 adjacent the opposite ends thereof.

Camming members 54 (FIG. 2) extend outwardly at each end of the shield, generally perpendicular to the plane of movement of the slide. Coil springs 55 extend from each of the camming members 54 to the pins 52 and urge the shield to its lowermost position as shown in FIG. 2. The camming members are actuated by the forward movement of the striker 26 provided with cam engaging shoulders 57 which serve to engage the inclined lower edge of the camming members 54 to raise the shield 48 as the striker 26 is swung toward the printing disk 25. The face plate 49 of the shield is provided with a semi-circular slot or cutout 56 disposed to cover, at least in part, the semi-circular recess 34 of the card carrier when the slide is in its lowermost position. In this position the slot 56 registers with the Out striker 27 and when raised, as will be hereinafter described, the slot is dimensioned to register with the recess 34 of the card carrier to permit the In striker 26 to operate through the registered cutout 56 and recess 34 to press a card C carried by the card carrier against the face of the printing disk 25. The shield with slot 56 thus operates like a shutter to expose to the printing disk only that portion of the card on which indicia will be printed. This insures clean sharp printing only at the desired locations; there is no incidental marking on the card, such as by the Out indicia when the In lever is operated.

The striker mechanism of the clock includes the previously mentioned strikers or hammer elements 26 and 27, FIGS. 2 and 6, each of which is pivotably supported by means of a pair of arms 62 and 64, respectively. The arms 62 and Marc pivotable about their lower ends on the same shaft 28 as the carrier arms 32 of the card carrier. Stop pin 65 extends from side wall 38 of the casing and engages the legs 62 and 64 of the two strikers. Hubs 66 extend from the striker arms 62 to hold the In hammer in fixed axial position on shaft 28 and to provide bearing surfaces to stabilize the swinging movement of the hammer. Hubs 68 similarly hold the Out hammer in fixed axial position on shaft 28.

The strikers 26 and 27 are selectively pivotable about shaft 28 in response to movement of the In and Out levers and may be designated as the In" hammer 26, shown as the outer hammer in FIG. 2. The Out hammer 27 is disposed radially inward of the hammer 26. One of the legs 62 of the In hammer has an arcuate extension 70 with a forwardly opening slot 72 of suflicient circumferential length to permit full striking movement of the In hammer independently of the Out hammer. As shown in FIG. 2, the pin 46, extending from one leg 64 of the striker 27 fits through the slot 72 at its open end. The path of movement of the outer end of the pin 46 intersects the notch 45 in the card support arm 32. Thus when the arms 62 are swung forward carrying the striker 26, the pin 46 does not interfere with this movement. The Out printing hammer 27 is also pivotally mounted on shaft 28 by Out hammer legs 64 and is disposed within the In hammer 26. Movement of hammer 27 is transmitted to the card carrier by the pin 46 being received in notch 45 of one of the arms 32, and movement of striker 26 is transmitted to the card carrier by pin 47 being received in the notch 45 in the other carrier arm 32.

Each of the hammer elements is surfaced with a suitably resilient material, such as shown at 78 (FIG. 3) to cushion the printing stroke and insure a clear imprint on the card. The width w of the printing face is approximately equal in dimension to one-half the width of the printing face 25 and approximately to the width of slot 56 in the shield 48. In this way, when the Out hammer strikes a card against the printing face only the inner printing indicia will be reproduced on the card. The printing face of the In hammer 26, on the other hand has a radially stepped configuration with the wider portion near its center and reduced width at the outerends thereof. The function of this particular arrangement will be explained below.

The printing head is supported by a mounting bracket which is secured to the side walls 38 and 40, and comprises a backing plate 91 rotated by a shaft 92 which is rotated by a clock mechanism 94. The clock mechanism 94, which may be an electrical clockmotor, also rotates a shaft 96 upon which is mounted the time indicating dial 14 which shows through the slot 16 on the front of the housing 10. An electrical lead 97 is provided for connection to a source of electricity to the clockmotor 94.

Carried on the side of the backing plate adjacent the carrier is the printing disk or plate 25 having two bands of printing indicia 98 and 100, concentrically disposed about the periphery of the disk 25. The printing indicia comprises four, twelve hour quadrants, and the clock drive mechanism is correspondingly forty-eight hours per revolution. The strikers are of selected length measured from the shaft 28 so that the In hammer 26 will contact the outer band 98 of numbers, and the Out hammer 27 will contact the inner band 100 of numerals when each is swung forward by the corresponding lever. A forty-eight hour disk was selected because of its low rate of rotation. It was found that contact of the striker does not affect its accuracy while the accuracy of a mechanism of higher rotational speed is actually effective by the stopping action of the striker pressing the card against the surface of the printing disk.

A reservoir type inking roll 108 is provided so that for each operation of either lever arm ink is applied to that portion of the printing head which at the time is the upper fractional portion of the printing face.

The inking roll is rotatably carried in a shaft 110 which has its outer end portions extending into a guide channel 111 provided in each of the side plates 38 and 40.

The ink roll shaft is caused to move across the upper portion of the printing head in response to actuation of both the In and Out levers. Roll activating means comprises a pair of links 112 through which the ink roll shaft extends. The links are disposed adjacent the outer ends of the shaft and inwardly of the side walls 38 and 40. The other end of each of the links 112 is pivotably connected to a link 114 by means of pivot pins 116. The opposite end of each of the links 114 is fixedly connected by set screw 121 to shaft (FIG. 3) which extends between the side walls 38 and 40. A pin 122 extends from each of the In and Out levers and causes the ink roll control linkage to move the ink roll from its lowermost position, FIG. 5, to its uppermost position, FIG. 6. The ink roll follows the path of the guide channel 111. Movement of one of the links 114 is transmitted to the shaft 120, since it is fixedly connected thereto. As a result, the other link 114 connected to the opposite end of the shaft 120 is also operated. Thus operation of either lever 18 or 20 operates both links 114 and both links 112 to carry the ends of the roll shaft 110 upwardly in the channel 111 whereby inking of the printing face is accomplished by movement of either the In or Out levers. A torsion spring 117 is fitted around the shaft 120. The inner end of the spring is secured to a collar 118 afiixed to the shaft. The outer end of the spring is secured to a pin 119 which extends from the housing. The spring 117 urges the shaft to the angular position corresponding to the lower position of the ink roll 108. Thus when the ink roll is raised and the lever 18 or 20 released, the spring 117 will return the shaft to its initial angular position and return the roll 108 to its lowermost position.

Means for operating the In and Out hammers and for advancing the card carrier24 to the printing position shown in FIG. 6, comprises the In lever 18 and the Out lever 20 connected to mechanical operating linkages to swing the hammers and cards about their common shaft 28. The levers 18 and 20 are mounted adjacent opposite ends of the shaft 120 which is supported at its outer ends by the side plates 38 and 40. Referring to FIGS 5 and 6, it will be seen that both levers 18 and 20 have forked or bifurcated lower end portions, thus making four portions. The upper leg 1240f the forked end of each of the levers 18 and 20 is pivotably attached by a pin 128 to one end of a link 130. The other end of the link 130 is pivotably attached to the hammer arm 62 by the pin 47 which, as previously mentioned, lies behind the carrier leg 32 in the slot 45. A coil spring 134 is attached at the outer edge of each link 130 and each is secured by a pin 132 to the adjacent side plate of the clock housing. The spring 134 releasably retains the levers in their uppermost position as in FIG. 6, and returns the levers and associated linkages to this position, as shown in FIG. 6.

The lower leg 136 of the forked portion of the levers 18 and 20, each include a pin 122 which extends outwardly from the lever to a position underlying each link 114. Pins 122 serve to transmit the motion of the levers 18 and 20 to each pair of coupled links 114 and 112, the latter being pivotably connected to opposite ends of the ink roll shaft 110. A coil spring 140 is attached to the lower end of each of the levers 18 and 20 and to a pin 119 secured to the adjacent side walls of the housing, so as to releasably urge the levers into their upward position, whereby they are automatically returned by these springs to their FIG; 6 position when they are released.

The hammers or strikers 26 and 27 and card carrier 24 are also moved by the levers 18 and 20 whose pivotable motion is transmitted by links 130 to the pins 47 and 46. These pins carry the In and Out strikers respectively toward the printing disk 25. As previously mentioned, the pins 46 and 47 will pick up the adjacent carrier leg 32 and carry it into contact with the printing disk 25. Substantially simultaneously the ink roll is moved by the pairs of linkages 114 and 112 to apply ink to the upper portion of the printing disk.

Operation The operation of the time clock of the present invention will be best understood by first referring to FIGS. 8 and 9. In particular, FIGS. 8 and 9 show one type of time card-c which may be used with the present invention. The card may be pre printed with the name of the employer-company, with positions available for the name of the employee, the name of the particular job, the date, and any other desired information. As shown, the card 0 has imprinted thereon In and Out arrows a and b respectively disposed at the approximate center of the card.

Referring to FIG; 7 and as mentioned earlier, the printink disk 25 has two concentric bands of time indicia thereon; the In time indicia 98 and the Gut. time indicia 100. As shown, each set of time indices is divided into a quadrant of, eq'ually'spaced graduations. Reading clockwise, it can be seen that the In set counts down from 12 to 12, while the Out set counts down from 0 to 0. As designed, each quadrant represents a 12 hour period. As is further shown under numeral 12 of the In set, there is a pointer arrow x. This pointer comes into play in indicating elapsed time, as well be explained.

Due to the quadrant design of the printing disk 25 and the semi-circular design of the In and Out printing faces, each printing of the In printing face and the In set of indices on the time card 0 will result in a small segment of the In time indices 98 being printed on the card 0 and a pointer x as shown in FIG. 8, while each printing of the Out indicia results in a full quadrant of printing on the time card c as shown in FIG. 9, with the completed card being as shown in FIG. 9.

In the actual operation of the time clock, a blank time card 0 is placed in the card slot of card carrier 24 so that the lower end of card 0 extends across the semi-circular recess 34 of the carrier.

At this point the relative position of the elements of the time clock are as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 6. The In lever 18 is then pressed downward which results in the following sequence of events. First, pin 122 carried by lever 18 contacts the lower edge of link 114 which is fixedly mounted to the shaft 120. The shaft is thus rotated to move link 114 on the opposite end thereof. This in turn causes both links 112 to move upwardly carrying the inking roll 108 thereon upwardly in guide channels or camming slots 111 to ink the face of the printing disk.

Substantially simultaneously with the commencement of movement of the inking roll, the leg 124 of lever 18 starts to pull link 130 forwardly. This action causes the In printing hammer 26 to pivot forward due to theconnection of pin 47 between link 130 and In hammer leg 62. The slot 72 permits movement of hammer leg 62 by the pin 46 which is at this time stationary.

As the In hammer 26 approaches the U-shaped card carrier 24 with the card c therein, the printing shield 48 is cammed upwardly by the action of the hammer 26 against camming members 54. When the shield 48 has been cammed to its highest point, the cutout section 56 in the plate 49 is registered with the printing face 78 of the In hammer 26. At the same time the shield 48 is being cammed, the pin 47 fits into notch 45 on carrier arm 3-2 and advances the carrier with the striker 26.

Referring again to the inking roll 108 as it is forced upwardly in the camming slots 111, it comes in inking contact with about one quadrant of each set of indicia 98 and on the printing disk. This action prepares the printing disk for printing on the card c.

With a further downward movement of the In lever 18, the inking roll is led out of the way by camming slots 111, while the printing face 78 of hammer 26 comes into contact with the back of card c, thereby pressing the card against the In indicia 98 of the printing disk through the cutout 56 of the shield plate 49.

Once the In lever 18 is released, biasing means such as springs 117, 134 and 140 return the various levers and linkages to their original positions. Spring 55 returns the shield 48 to its original position. At this point, the time card c (as shown in FIG. 8) is removed from the time clock and retained until a job is completed, or work is finished, etc.

After a job is done, a days work completed, or any period of time has elapsed, the card c is replaced in the card carrier 24 as before. At this point the Out lever 20 is pressed downward. Like the action of the In lever 18 described above, two things happen substantially simultaneously. First, the pin 122 carried .by lever 20 bears against link 114, causing it to exert a force on link 112 to move the inking roll 108, as previously described. Secondly, upper leg 124, by its clockwise rotation about shaft 120, causes link 130 to which it is attached, to pivot the Out hammer 27 by connection of link 130 to hammer leg 64 by pin 46. During this movement, the pin 46 .enters notch 45 in carrier leg 32, whereby it also pivots the card carrier 24.

With the printing face 78 of the Out hammer pressed up against the back of card c, the Out hammer 27, card carrier 24, and card 0 are pressed against the Out printing indicia 100 on printing disk 25 through the cutout section 56 of shield 48. The resulting imprint on card 0 is as shown in FIG. 9, while the completed card is as shown in FIG. 10.

Finally, when the Out lever 20 is released, the various biasing means, previously discussed, return the parts to their original positions and the card 0 may be removed.

Referring to FIG. 9, it will be seen, for example, that the In row of indicia indicates it was punched in at approximately 1:42 hours, while the Out indicia 125 indicates it was punched out at approximately 5:12 hours. The pointer arrow indicates that elapsed time between in and out was 3 hours.

It will readily be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the printing indicia on the printing disk need not be limited to time indicia, as shown in the illustrative embodiment. For example, any time related value, such as money, may be substituted for the time indicia shown.

In this way, a direct money reading may be obtained in proportion to a predetermined elapsed time.

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed is:

1. Elapsed time device comprising a rotatable printing disk having bands of indicia concentrically disposed about the face of the disk, one of said bands including a reference mark, means for rotating the disk in accordance with the passage of time, concentrically disposed strikers each separately mounted for pivotal movement into contact with a portion of one of said bands, a first and a second actuator, the first actuator being connected to pivot the first of said strikers, and the second actuator being connected to pivot the second of said strikers, a card receiver disposed between said printing disk and said strikers for holding a time card in position to be selectively imprinted by portions of said indicia, said reference mark on said printing disk being radially positioned to print on said card when said first striker is actuated whereby a subsequent operation of said second striker will result in elapsed time being indicated by the sequential operation of said strikers.

2. Elapsed time device as set forth in claim 1 in which said indicia are bands of numerals which are arranged in four quadrants with a reference indicator in each quadrant of one of said bands designated In band, the other band being designated the Out band, said card receiver being disposed between said strikers and said disk and pivotably mounted to be moved toward and away from the disk in response to operation of both the first and second actuators, said first striker being disposed to swing into contact at least a quadrant of said In band to imprint on a card numerals in said band, and at least one indicator in said quadrant, said second striker being disposed to contact at least a quadrant of said Out band whereby a card sequentially imprinted registers the elapsed time between the sequential imprintations.

3. Elapsed time device as set forth in claim 2 in which the card used in said device bears a reference mark disposed to designate the time of each of said sequential imprintations.

4. Elapsed time indicator comprising a printing disk having at least two concentric bands of time indicia disposed about the face of the disk, a timer for rotating said disk, a striker mechanism pivotably disposed for movement into and out of contact with the indicia of said disk, a card carrier pivotably disposed between the disk and striker mechanism and swingable to carry a card into juxtaposition with the indicia on said disk, a shield disposed between said disk and striker for selectvely exposing the inner and outer bands of indicia for imprinting one or the other on the card, and means for actuating said striker mechanism and carrier to swing the same into contact with said printing disk, said shield beingradially movable in relation to the printing disk and in response to said actuating means to selectively expose one and the other of said bands for printing on a card disposed in said card carrier.

5. In an elapsed time indicator a time disk having two concentric bands of time printing numerals disposed about the face of said disk thereof, a pair of concentric hammers each separately pivotable into contact with each of said two time bands, a time card carrier pivotably disposed between the disk and said hammers, a first and second lever each connected to actuate only one of said hammers to pivot the same toward the printing disk, and means coupling the movement of each of said hammers to said carrier to move the carrier with a card therein into printing contact with the printing disk.

'6. In an elapsed time indicator as set forth in claim 5 an index mark provided in each quadrant of one of said bands, said first lever and one of said hammers being disposed to imprint on a time card at least one of said index marks, the second lever and other hammer being connected to imprint subsequently on the same card a portion of the other band of numerals whereby the index mark indicates elapsed time between operation of the first and second levers.

7. In an elapsed time device a rotatable printing disk having two concentric bands disposed about the face of said disk, one of said bands including time related printing indicia and at least one elapsed time indicator mark, the other of said bands including time related printing indicia, and means for sequentially imprinting on a time card at least a portion of the first band containing said elapsed time indicator mark, and thereafter for imprinting on the card the time indicia from the second band, said means including a shield radially movable relative to said printing disk for selectively masking one and the other of said bands of printing indicia, whereby said mark indicates the time which has elapsed between the sequential imprintations.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,300,909 4/ 1919 Wilson 346- 1,458,689 6/1923 Ellis 34695 2,736,023 2/1956 Williams 34682 3,167,380 1/ 1965 Williams 346-82 RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH W. HARTARY, Assistant Examiner. 

